Prevention and Control of Darkling Beetles in Poultry Houses

If you’re in the poultry industry then chances are you’ve encountered darkling beetles. These little pests also go by the name of lesser mealworms or black beetles. Whatever you call them, they are one of the most common pests in poultry facilities. Darkling beetles can be present in alarmingly high numbers and cause significant damage to facilities and productivity.

For their size, these little beetles pack a big punch in the form of damages to poultry operations. You’ll often find them in the bedding litter material in poultry house floors. Here are four ways that darkling beetles can cause damage:

Darkling Beetle Damages to Poultry Facilities

Facility Damage: Darkling beetles can cause damage to almost every part of a poultry facility. They can burrow into wood structures and tunnel through insulation. They can cause damage to sill sealers and vapor barriers. They can even create spaces between walls, concrete, and flooring.

Direct Damage to Poultry: Poultry can be directly, negatively affected by darkling beetles in the facility. Aside from carrying diseases, darkling beetles may also pester the birds, causing excess movement and reducing feed efficiency. Poultry that feed on the pests instead of provided feed are suspect to lower bird nutrition. Beetles are filling, but not as nutritious as the feed provided. They are also known to crawl on the birds when deprived of moisture and chew at the base of the feathers. The skin bites can be mistaken for skin leukosis at the processing plants. The bites also predispose the birds to certain diseases. In cases of heavy infestation, the beetles are known to kill weakened chicks in their pursuit of food and moisture.

Feed Loss: These beetles can consume a significant amount of poultry feed. They can be found in stored grains and seeds such as wheat, rice, soybeans, and barley. Spilled feed can attract a darkling beetle infestation.

Darkling Beetle Overview

Darkling Beetle Behavior:

Populations often congregate in large areas

Burrow deeper into litter during cold weather

Migrate into the soil and insulation when birds are absent

Present where birds are

Nocturnal, but can be active any time of day

Darkling Beetle Life Cycle:

4 Life Stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult

On average, darkling beetles can complete development from eggs to adults in about a month in warmer temperatures and up to 164 days in colder temperatures

Egg hatch and larval development are not known to occur below 62.6° F

Typical life cycles last from 2 months up to one year

Females can lay up to 800 eggs in a 42 day period

How to Prevent a Darkling Beetle Infestation

Practicing good management and biosecurity measures can help ward off a darkling beetle infestation.

1. Water: Darkling beetles need water to thrive. Check your pipes and waterers for leaks. You could unintentionally be providing a welcoming environment for darkling beetles.

4. Insecticide Rotation: Darkling beetles can build up a resistance to many insecticides. It’s important to have an integrated pest management (IPM) plan in place that addresses darkling beetle resistance. Veterinary and Poultry Supply customers can speak with their salesperson to discuss an insecticide rotation program best suited to their facility.

5. Flock Down Time: Keep a downtime of at least 2 weeks between flocks to completely clean and disinfect the building and equipment. This downtime can also be used to apply empty-barn residual insecticides. We’ll discuss these insecticides below.

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Probio Sağlık Ürünleri A.Ş. / Probio Food Safety

25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Probio Food Safety has been established in 2016 based on a quarter century experience on Animal Nutrition and Health.
Probio Food Safety is consisting of PhD or higher-level experts on animal health, animal nutrition, feed additives and feed/food safety.
At Probio Food Safety, we work closely with the farming industry to increase animal health and wellbeing, improve hygiene standards and biosecurity, enhance productivity and profitability, and make farming safer for livestock, workers and consumers. Our solutions that work in synergy with each other, and in synergy with your operations, to create a complete and comprehensive range from a single source, which is trusted.
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